Tiling the floor before kitchen is fitted

[curium]

I'm getting a new kitchen but I'm going to tile the walls & floor myself.

Should I wait for the fitters to finish or should I tile the floor while the kitchen is empty?

Does it matter either way?

Cheers!

 

[cantaloup63]

Concrete floor or timber?

 

[curium]

Concrete floor or timber?

Concrete.

Does it matter?

 

[Richard C]

Does it matter?

Probably only in as much that tiling over suspended timber floors needs careful consideration & extra preparation. You can do it either way; tiling before means you have an unobstructed floor & can tile the complete area but this is obviously more expensive than tiling just under the plinth line (assuming you have one). But if you tile first there is a risk that ham fisted kitchen fitters can damage your new tiles.
If you decide to tile after, make allowance for the loss of height or you may not get integrated/built in units to fit under the worktop, it’s always best to fully tile these areas anyway even if you don’t tile under the rest of the plinth. Think carefully & plan your tile layout so you get a balanced layout with regard to plinth lines, walls etc.

There are a few things to catch you out & I would advise you read the Tiling Sticky & Forum Archive posts before doing any work or buying materials, it could prevent you making disastrous & potentially expensive mistakes. It’s also important to use only quality trade tilling materials of the correct type for your tiles; cheapo own brand & DIY stuff is mostly crap.